Abarth launching in the UAE

Performance brand Abarth, part of the Fiat Chrysler Automobiles group, is officially coming to the UAE market in time for the Dubai motor show this November

Auto Middle East have just learned from our Fiat Chrysler Automobiles Middle East sources that the brand’s performance-orientated Abarth line-up will be officially introduced in the UAE at November’s Dubai motor show.

Abarth is well known amongst enthusiast circles in Europe as a brand founded by Carlo Abarth in 1949 to compete primarily in the racing sphere, both racing with and working with brands such as Porsche, Lancia and Alfa Romeo.

Italy’s giant Fiat eventually acquired Abarth as a factory performance arm, specialising in little hot hatchbacks that are as wild as anything out there. Apart from the Fiat 500 supermini based Abarths, the company also puts its own spin on Fiat’s 124 Roadster drop-top that is in turn based on Mazda’s MX-5 convertible.

In our region an Abarth is a rare sight although the company did show off a couple of cars two Dubai motor shows ago in 2013, with plans back then to enter the local market which, it seems, had to wait until now.

Abarth is a brand that has historically (founded in 1949…) specialised in pocket rockets and pint-sized performance, as the interior of this Abarth 695 shows…

Abarth’s range of cars includes the 124 Spider with a turbocharged four-cylinder engine good for a 0-100km/h time of 6.8 seconds. The brand however is more synonymous with its hot take on the Fiat 500 hatch — you can choose between the relatively tame 595 or the Abarth 695 which is basically a race car with number plates.

The 695 gets carbon fibre inner door panels with a fabric door pull, and full racing bucket seats, no rear seats, and a half roll cage. Abarth even throws in a proper racing gearbox with straight-cut gears. From its little 1.4-litre turbo engine the car makes 190 horsepower and 270Nm of torque, but considering it tips the scales at just less than a thousand kilos, that’s more than enough to scare you.

So far there is no confirmation which models specifically Abarth will offer in the Middle East but we’ll know more as the Dubai motor show nears on November 14.

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